System Shock 2

"Remember, it is my will that guided you here. It is my will that gave you your cybernetic implants, the only beauty in that meat you call a body. If you value that meat... you will do as I tell you." The cult classic sci-fi horror FPS-RPG has returned.

Mods. From texture upgrades to total conversions, they can make old games look and feel brand new again. Here's a selection of some of the best ones out there as well as how to apply them.
You'll also learn about Fan Missions here and how to play t...

I was quite surprised that there is no specific guide on steam on how to patch and or mod System Shock 2 to modern standards as well as to upgrade it to the community's wishes.
Therefore, I'm not providing a full guide here but listing the source of the b...

The spiritual prequel of Bioshock. If you play both games the resemblance becomes very obvious.

This is a role-playing survival-horror game.

While by the end of Bioshock your character becomes so strong with so many weapons that the game ceases to be challenging. SystemShock2 on the other hand, if you don't upgrade your stats very carefully and save up on ammo and consumable items you will have a very hard time. The game gets harder as it goes, not easier.

Both games have a problem with balancing difficulty. SS2 gets too hard. Bioshock gets too easy.

Combat is hard. Weapons degrade and jam (weapons dont jam for enemies though which I find to be cheap). Weapons require specific stats to even be able to use them. Ammo is scarce. Inventory space is limited. Enemies seem to respawn (which can be very frustrating because it wastes your already limited resources). It can feel redundant at times since cameras set off alarms that spawn enemies.

You cant sell items until much later in the game if you get a certain item.Special actions (hacking, repair, etc) uses up currency (aka Nanites). There is even a hacking minigame to repair items. Failing a hack results in an explosion, breaking or alarm depending on the object being hacked.

The game doesn't hold your hands. Consulting the map doesn't help much either. You will have to explore carefully. Audio logs and objectives arent that well organised in the menu either.

The game has a real sense of accomplishment whenever you complete an area.

This is a game best played in limited doses. Don't try to complete it in one playthrough. It will exhaust you and stress you out.I also found that personally disabling the ingame music alows you to better concentrate.

The game has a very interesting villain... The game, in fact, has villains (plural). But one in particular stands out. A villain that is reminiscent of GlaDOS.

A "cult classic" that I missed the first time around. I found System Shock 2 to be a DEEPLY FLAWED game:

The geometry of the levels is very sticky and will "grab" you unexpectedly; things like desks and destroyed enemies in narrow hallways serve as their own obstacles and I found myself frozen in place unexpectedly a LOT

At higher levels of AGI your character becomes slippery and platforming becomes difficult

The final zones (even from the Rickenbacker onward) become incredibly cramped, confusing and difficult to navigate

The semi-final boss spawns so many enemies so rapidly you can actually plug doorways with corpses and have to leave a distance to discard the corpses

Difficulty is very front-loaded; while this is good to make you feel like a super-enhanced killing machine toward the end of the game, it will make the beginning even more frustrating, especially while trying to learn the myriad systems

Melee weapon hit detection is incredibly awkward and lagged

Even with the map, emails and notes, figuring out where to go takes a while. It's interesting that it doesn't hold your hand whatsoever, but enemies spawn infinitely throughout the game and you can't pause while looking at notes/maps so you get attacked regularly while trying to figure out where to go

And yet, I have to recommend the game. Why? I still had fun with it. Despite the myriad annoyances and frustrations, when it wasn't being an unpolished, irritating bugger it was quite a lot of fun. The beginning and ending were gross, but the middle was sweet enough to make the journey worthwhile.